Video Games

Smartphone games like Candy Crush have become virtual overnight sensations, prompting game makers to redouble their efforts to feed what seems an insatiable public need to waste time…so long as it’s all done digitally. Apps, and game apps in particular, are big business. But for how long? And on whose terms?

With the recent announcement concerning its latest gaming machine, Xbox One, Microsoft seems to be after one thing and one thing only: To become the major go-to device in your home when it comes to playing games and taking in entertainment. With sales of video games experiencing some softness, though, is Microsoft’s bet on consoles a wise investment? Or a desperate attempt to control market share?

The video game marketing landscape is constantly changing. With gamers responding to developments mere milliseconds after being announced, it’s hard to stay out in front of the masses. Which means that video-game marketers are, like so many Call of Duty casualties-to-be, destined to the degradation of re-spawning (aka, dead and needing a restart) – unless they can somehow widen – or at least hang onto -- their razor-thin lead.